It was as if a queen had bid her to be seated.

She sat almost with the humble lack of case a serving-woman might have shown.

She had never seen Clorinda wear such an air before, and never had she dreamed that she would so open herself to any fellow-creature.

She knew but little of what her sister was capable--of the brilliancy of her charm when she chose to condescend, of the deigning softness of her manner when she chose to please, of her arch- pleasantries and cutting wit, and of the strange power she could wield over any human being, gentle or simple, with whom she came in contact.
But if she had not known of these things before, she learned to know them this morning.

For some reason best known to herself, Mistress Clorinda was in a high good humour.